Comedian-turned-playwright-turned-filmmaker
Mike Birbiglia, in his debut feature fiction film,
directs, co-writes (with Ira Glass) and stars as a
struggling stand-up club comedian, in this modestly
amusing autobiographically inspired work of
fiction. Birbiglia successfully transfers his
comedy routine to the big screen, in this indie
feature, even though I didn't find it particularly
funny it was nevertheless a very human, appealing
and realistic story line. The personal film delves
into the travails of being a stand-up comedian
starting out at the bottom-rung without a rep,
living with a possibly dangerous sleep-disorder and
trying to handle a long-time love relationship
that's going nowhere. The film was adapted from the
off-Broadway hit a few years ago, as it tells how
the comedian found his mojo a few years ago by
relating his real-life painful experiences into
confessional gags told onstage. His limited success
came with the price tag of his living
out his angst driven nightmares by trying to kill
the jackal in his dreams. In one instance while
sleepwalking, Matt jumps out of his motel's
second-floor. The career chase also means Matt's
relationship ends, as he lives only for his
one-man show. The winning joke he gains from this
relationship is the following: “I
decided I’m not going to get married until I’m
sure that nothing else good can happen in my
life.” With that Matt connects with the
audience and comes-of-age as a professional
comedian.

Birbiglia
offers a likable nice-guy lighthearted voice-over
throughout, as he tries hard to win the audience
over to the hapless character he portrays. Matt's
subservient to his overbearing father (James
Rebhorn) and eccentric mom (Carol
Kane), but after much humiliation and
grief about his derailed career he lucks into a
series of out-of-town gigs in college venues that
he parlays into a winning career move and shows
how resilient he can be.

The
stress-filled Matt Pandamiglio (Mike
Birbiglia)wants more than
anything else to be a successful stand-up comedian.
For the last eight years he is locked into a dead-end
relationship with his girlfriend Abby (Lauren
Ambrose), a supportive sweet college art
teacher who wants to get married but knows he
doesn't. How Matt survives his
career ordeal seems less on talent then on
perseverance, his genial nature and thick skin.In
a way it's a diverting inspirational film, that
also warns in a funny way that one should get
professional help if needed and not avoid it like the
film's protagonist.